The European Parliament adopted a resolution tabled by
the Committee on Development on caste-based discrimination. Members
noted that caste-based discrimination existed in numerous countries
across the globe, with the highest number of victims being found in
South Asia, but also in Africa, the Middle East and the diaspora
community, affecting an estimated 260 million people
worldwide. It condemned the continuing human rights violations
committed against people suffering from caste hierarchies and
caste-based discrimination, including the denial of equality and of
access to the legal system and to employment, continued segregation
and caste-induced barriers to the achievement of basic human rights
and development. Members particularly expressed serious concern
about the social exclusion of Dalits in India and the widespread
impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of crimes against Dalits and other
victims of caste-based human rights violations.
Parliament called on the Commission and the European
External Action Service (EEAS) and the EU to:
- recognise caste as a distinct form of
discrimination rooted in the social and/or religious context,
which must be tackled together with other grounds of
discrimination, i.e. ethnicity, race, descent, religion, gender and
sexuality, in EU efforts to fight all forms of
discrimination;
- consider people affected by caste-based discrimination
as an identifiable group in policies and programmes and mainstream
the fight against caste-based discrimination in EU legislation,
policies and programming documents and to adopt operational
guidelines for its implementation;
- enhance monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in order
to assess effectively the impact of EU action on the situation of
people affected by this form of discrimination;
- carry out a systematic assessment of the impact of
trade and/or investment agreements on groups affected by caste
discrimination, and address these issues with industry
representatives, government authorities and relevant civil society
organisations;
- provide stronger support for development projects
combating caste-based discrimination as a serious human rights
violation that exacerbates poverty, and to take this form of
discrimination into account in all projects with a focus on
education, women, access to justice, political participation or
labour in relevant countries;
- raise the issue of caste-based discrimination at the
highest level with the governments of affected countries during
bilateral summits and other international meetings;
- promote joint initiatives to eliminate caste
discrimination with the governments of states, such as India,
Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where caste-affected
communities are subjected to so-called ‘untouchability
practices’, and, more broadly, to combat discrimination based
on work and descent, which occurs in various countries, including
Yemen, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Somalia; recalls that caste
discrimination has gone unmentioned in agreements with many of
these states;
- include, where relevant, a ‘caste-based
discrimination clause’ in all trade and association
agreements;
- promote non-discriminatory and inclusive policies and
procedures in business operations with caste-affected countries,
including affirmative action for Dalits and similarly affected
people in the labour market and the private sector;
- promote regular, broad consultation with civil society
on caste-based discrimination and to allocate adequate resources to
civil society organisations for fighting caste
discrimination;
- promote a caste-sensitive
post-2015 development agenda, with the reduction of inequalities
based on or aggravated by caste as a crucial and measurable
goal.